5 players who are off to shocking starts for the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays climbed back to .500 last weekend thanks to some contributions from some unexpected players from the roster. That said, part of the reason why they needed a strong week to get back to .500 is because they haven't been getting contributions from some marquee players on the roster.

With that in mind, here's a look at five Blue Jays players who are off to some shocking starts this season.

5 players who are off to shocking starts for the Blue Jays

Addison Barger

After a slow start to the season, Barger had a strong showing on the Blue Jays' road trip and is beginning to look like a key piece of the roster.

Barger went 8-for-14 (.444 average) along with three doubles, a home run, six RBI, two walks, and three strikeouts against the Angels and Mariners, and is making a habit of hitting the ball hard. Barger has also been hitting the ball harder than ever.

Eight of the 14 balls that Barger put in play in that span had an an exit velocity of at least 105 miles per hour.

That hot streak is part of a strong couple weeks for the Blue Jays, as he's hitting .310 with eight RBI and 13 hits in his last 15 games.

Nathan Lukes

Lukes is another Blue Jays player who has revamped his offense over the past couple weeks. The 30-year-old has looked like a different player after a slow start to the year, and, like Barger, is beginning to look like a guy who should be in the lineup every day.

After starting the season 4-for-24 (.167) at the plate, Lukes is batting .351 across his last 13 games to go along with two home runs and nine RBI.

While he doesn't have enough at-bats to qualify for the Baseball Savant leaderboard, he'd be in the top percentile in expected batting average, sweet-spot rate and whiff rate.

Myles Straw

Straw continues to be a productive player after the Blue Jays acquired him from the Guardians in the offseason in a trade that was lambasted at the time. He's spent the first part of the season showing why he's can be an important piece for the Blue Jays this season.

Straw's hit .284 in 32 games this year with one home run and seven RBI and ranks in the 95th percentile in Outs Above Average and the 93rd percentile in sprint speed.

And, perhaps most importantly, he held down the fort while the team was without Daulton Varsho. The presence of Varsho on the roster means that Straw's back to being a fourth outfielder and defensive replacement, which is how he's best suited for this roster.

Andrés Giménez

Things went from bad to worse for Giménez last week when the Blue Jays placed him on the injured list with a right quad strain.

He proved his worth when he smacked three home runs in his first four games, but his offense has fallen off a cliff since.

Prior to going on the injured list, Giménez was hitting just .195 in 36 games, though he hit .304 in his last seven games prior to sustaining his injury.

While the Blue Jays didn't acquire Giménez for his offense, his bat has been a black hole in the lineup.

Ernie Clement has handled second base over the last week, and he'll likely handle the lion's share of work there while Giménez is out.

Giménez still has four years left on his contract so it's clear that he's a part of the Blue Jays' long-term plans, but they'll need him to step things up once he gets back.

Anthony Santander

While "Tony Taters" is known for being a slow starter, it's taken him a while to heat up this year. He's hitting .196 with five home runs in 36 games this year, and was hitting just .178 at the beginning of the month before racking up some multi-hit games against the Angels.

He didn't get a chance to build on that, however, as he missed all of the series against the Mariners due to a shoulder injury. While it's unclear if he's going to miss a ton of time due to the injury, it's still not a great sign.

While there have been some flashes of power from him this year, he hasn't been the consistent power bat that the team expected when they signed him to a five-year deal in the offseason.

He's not hitting the ball hard (66th percentile) and is chasing too many bad pitches (31st percentile in chase rate), so pitchers don't have any reason to throw him anything over the plate. While he can still punish mistakes, he's been getting less and less mistakes.

Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have begun to heat up at the top of the lineup, but they'll need Santander to join them if they want to get back into the postseason picture.